Soccer: Swansea clinch loan signing of Bayern's Renato Sanches

LONDON (Reuters) - Swansea City pulled off an audacious loan deal for Bayern Munich's Portuguese midfielder Renato Sanches on Thursday, agreeing a season-long arrangement with the German champions.

Former Benfica player Sanches was part of Portugal's triumphant Euro 2016 squad and was named as player of the tournament after a series of dazzling displays.

However, his move to Bayern for an initial 27.5 million pounds ($35.4 million), was far from smooth and he had limited chances to impress last season in the Bundesliga.

"We're delighted we've been able to conclude the loan deal with Swansea City," Bayern's chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said on the club's website on Thursday.

"Our goal was for Renato to gain regular match practice at club level in a strong league such as the Premier League.

"We remain convinced he has the potential to become an important player for FC Bayern in the future."

Bayern said there was no option to make the deal permanent, but the arrival of Sanches for a season is a huge boost to the Welsh club who lost their most prized asset Gylfi Sigurdsson to Everton earlier in August.

Swansea manager Paul Clement knows 20-year-old Sanches well having worked with him while he was assistant manager to Carlo Ancelotti for the first half of last season before being approached for the vacant Swansea job.

Sanches further bolsters Swansea's midfield options after Sam Clucas joined from Hull City.